Research Methods

Research Methods Guess Who?, Dissertation, Technical Report

K. VINEETHA

191171NB003 M.ARCH 2ND SEM

19171NB003 | www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/ex/2006/03/x3074/13rRUxYIN8E

Guessing is what we do when logic and information don't provide sufficient insight to

GUESS WHO?

answer a question completely.

Current theories and research on intelligent guessing that is, guessing that's tied to a rational process are limited and disjoint.

OBJECTIVE: Validation of the ‘Best Guess’ weight estimation method on

a

geographically

divergent

external

sample

of

children, plus comparison with APLS and Broselow weight

19171NB003 | Wiley Online Library

estimation methods.

EXAMPLE

METHOD: Prospective cross‐sectional analytical study at Princess Margaret

Hospital

Emergency

Department.

A

convenience

sample of children aged 0–14 years recruited from May to June 2008. Age, sex, ethnicity, height and actual weight obtained. Agreement between the methods is reported as a comparative

mean

and

distribution

of

the

percentage

error, plus the proportion of instances where the error exceeded 20% of the measured weight.

19171NB003 | Wiley Online Library

RESULTS:

CONCLUSION:

A total of 1235 children were included. The ‘Best

The

Guess’ method was the most accurate, particularly

method is accurate, especially in

in children aged 1–4 years (mean percentage error

children

+1.69%).

moderately overestimates weight in

In

other

age

groups

it

overestimated

Best

Guess

weight

aged

1–4 years.

other

3.41%

the

was more precise, whereas the APLS

Broselow method was most precise, with tendency

method was the least accurate and

to

precise of all. The ease of use of

6.25%.

Across

underestimate

mean

percentage

weight errors

all across

ranging

age age from

groups groups

with

−5.28%

to

the

Broselow

Broselow

method

−7.24%. The APLS method was least accurate and

greater

precise, with mean percentage errors ranging from

prehospital setting.

−12.61%

to

−17.36%.

errors

exceeding

Net 20%

weight were

increased mean body mass index.

underestimation associated

with

use

The

It

weight, with mean percentage errors ranging from to

ages.

estimation

in

method

argues

the

ED

for and

Steps with Cases Study Amy, who is a triathlete, has been saving up for a new bike for a few months now.

She's $400 from her goal, so she decided to make a whole bunch of brownies and cookies to sell. She has enough ingredients to make 137 baked goods, and she's charging $5 for a brownie and $2 for a cookie. She's trying to figure out how many of each she needs to make and sell to reach her goal of $400.

She starts by considering if she made 68 brownies and 69 cookies (about the same of 19171NB003 | Study.com

each and there are 137 baked goods total). In this case, she would make 68*5 = $340 from brownies and 69*2 = $138 from cookies giving a total of 340 + 138 = $478. This is a bit too much, so she increases the number of cookies to 80 and decreases the number of brownies to 57, because 80 + 57 = 137, giving 80*2 + 57*5 = $445. Still just a bit high, so she adjusts again by increasing the number of cookies to 95 and decreasing the number of brownies to 42 giving 95*2 + 42*5 = $400.

The process she just used to figure out how many brownies and cookies to make and sell

19171NB003 | Study.com

is a well-known solving process is called the

1. G U E S S , 2. C H E C K , & 3. R E V I S E M E T H O D

GUESS The

first

step

in

the

guess,

Once

REVISE an

educated

Third step is to revise

check, and revise method is to

guess has been made,

our guess by making a

make an educated guess.

we want to check to

new guess.

see if that guess is

When Amy realized that

brownies and 69 cookies. While

correct.

her first guess of 68

this is a guess, it's not just

After

two numbers she randomly pulled

guess of 68 brownies

resulted in $478, she

out of thin air. She knew that

and

she

knew this was too much,

she

then

see

so when she revised her

Amy's

19171NB003 | Study.com

CHECK

first

had

guess

enough

was

68

ingredients

to

Amy

69

made

cookies,

checked

to

a

brownies and 69 cookies

if this would get her

guess, she increased

knew that the two numbers had to

the

the cheaper option and

add up to 137, then she started

That

somewhere

in

She

second

used

the

information

to

method,

make

a

with

the

make

137

baked

guess

goods,

the that

problem

an educated guess.

so

middle. given

made -

she

sense

this

is

$400

she

wants.

explains step which

of

the

decreased the more

the

expensive option. She

brings

made a revised guess

us to the last step -

based on the new

revise.

information she got from her last guess.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES HYPOTHESIS TESTING (POINT ESTIMATION APPROACH) AND CONFIDENCE INTERVALS (INTERVAL ESTIMATION APPROACH) ARE CLOSELY RELATED CONCEPTS AND PROCEDURES WIDELY USED IN SUBSTANTIVE RESEARCH. 19171NB003 | Science Direct: Educated Guess

Research questions and hypotheses are usually based on a researcher's educated guess or intuition grounded in a good understanding of the phenomenon of interest.

For example, a teacher might ponder whether a new instructional approach has an effect on student achievement as measured on a state-wide assessment of learning (the research question).

Based on his/her pedagogical content knowledge, the teacher may generate a research hypothesis that this new instructional approach does impact student achievement.

Although this research hypothesis does not indicate the direction of influence, such qualifications can easily be incorporated to reflect whether the researcher believes that this instructional approach will increase or decrease measured achievement.

In general, a research hypothesis reflects a researcher's predictions and it directly shapes the statistical hypotheses to be empirically evaluated.

19171NB003 | topuniversities.com/blog/what-dissertation

A

dissertation

research

is

project

completed

as

part

of

undergraduate

DISSERTATION

a an or

postgraduate degree.

Typically, a dissertation allows their

students findings

present in

response to a question or proposition

that

choose themselves.

they

19171NB003 | topuniversities.com/blog/what-dissertation

EMPIRICAL DISSERTATIONS

Which

involve

collecting

data,

for

example

in

a

psychology degree.

This may mean putting into practice professional and ethical guidelines when collecting data from members of the public.

Empirical subjects

dissertations may

involve

in or

natural be

and

entirely

life

science

centered

on

laboratory work.

NON-EMPIRICAL DISSERTATIONS

It is based on existing data and arguments in the work of others. This is likely to mean spending a lot of time with a book.

In this type of dissertation, one needs to make sure

TYPES

not

to

just

describe

what

others

are

saying,

but

critically analyze the work and explore its practical applications.

19171NB003 | capella.edu/blogs/cublog/dissertation-research-methods

DISSERTATION RESEARCH METHODS THE CHOICE OF WHETHER TO USE A QUALITATIVE OR QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY IS BASED ON THE NATURE OF THE QUESTIONS BEING ASKED, THE STATE OF THE FIELD, AND THE FEASIBILITY OF THE APPROACH WITH THE POPULATION OF INTEREST.

Qualitative research focuses on examining the topic via cultural phenomena, human behavior, or belief systems.

QUALITATIVE:

This

type

of

research

questions,

or

focus

uses

groups

interviews, to

gain

open-ended

insight

into

people’s thoughts and beliefs around certain behaviors and systems.

19171NB003 | capella.edu/blogs/cublog/dissertation-research-methods

PHENOMENOLOGY:

CASE STUDY: The

research

multiple include

involves

sources

of

the

data.

interviews,

use

This

field

of

might notes,

This

as

the

most

difficult

form of qualitative research, which

involves

describing

documents, journals, and possibly some

“lived

quantitative elements (more information

learning from that experience

on

to

case

quantitative study

problem

or

research

focuses

on

situation

follows). a

A

particular

faced

by

a

experience”

a

help same

population and studies it from specific

researcher

angles. For example, a researcher might

understand

look

experience

at

focusing occurs.

violence

in

on

where,

when,

the

workplace, or

how

it

people

organizations that

subject.

and

that

or

may

face

experience.

“The

is

trying what

is

like

to the

for

the

19171NB003 | capella.edu/blogs/cublog/dissertation-research-methods

GENERIC QUALITATIVE INQUIRY: Also called generic qualitative, generic inquiry, or other variations.

“This

is

the

fallback

approach”.A

generic

qualitative

inquiry

is

conducted when the student has qualitative research questions, but the study does not meet the requirements of a case study or phenomenology. So the

researcher

may

be

using

similar

methods,

but

will

not

have

as

thorough of a foundation of research available.For that reason, it’s also less desirable, because the research isn’t going to be as extensive and inclusive. The researcher could run into problems with fewer data to analyze.

It’s

a

better

approach

for

someone

who

is

perhaps

seeking

a

second

advanced degree and has done a considerable amount of research, or who just needs to answer a research question or subtopic.

19171NB003 | capella.edu/blogs/cublog/dissertation-research-methods

Quantitative

research

involves

the

empirical

investigation of observable and measurable variables.

Q U A N T I T A T I V E : It

is

used

for

theory

testing,

prediction

of

outcomes, and determining relationships between and among variables using statistical analysis.

PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION: In this approach, data are collected by the researcher. Participants are recruited for the study, informed consent is obtained, and quantitative data are obtained either electronically or in person by the researcher.

This approach allows the researcher to decide exactly what variables he or she is interested in exploring and how they will be operationalized in the study.

Variables

properties authors.

are

(reliability

Data

are

measured and

analyzed

using

validity) using

instruments have

statistical

been

whose

psychometric

established

techniques

nature of the relationships between and among variables.

to

by

other

assess

the

19171NB003 | capella.edu/blogs/cublog/dissertation-research-methods

SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS: This approach involves the statistical analysis of data collected by other

researchers

or

organizations.

There

are

a

number

of

publicly

available data sets for researchers, often from large-scale, federally funded research projects or data repositories. Secondary data analysis may

save

time

for

researchers

as

participant

recruitment

and

data

collection are avoided. It is also a way to access information about vulnerable populations in an ethical manner (as it does not involve direct contact). However, when utilizing this approach, researchers must build their research questions based on the available data.

WHAT & WHERE TO INCLUDE

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:noitatressiD a erutcurts ot woH

1. Deciding on dissertation’s structure 2. Title page 3. Acknowledgements 4. Abstract 5. Table of Contents 6. List of Figures and Tables 7. List of Abbreviations 8. Glossary 9. Introduction 10.Literature review / Theoretical framework 11.Methodology 12.Results 13.Discussion 14.Conclusion 15.Reference list 16.Appendices 17.Editing and proofreading

Table of contents

AIMS & OBJECTIVES:

AIM = WHAT YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE. OBJECTIVE = THE ACTION(S) YOU WILL TAKE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE AIM.

Aims are statements of intent. They are usually written in broad terms.They set out what you hope to achieve at the end of the project.

Objectives, on the other hand, should be specific statements that define measurable outcomes, e.g. what steps will be taken to achieve the outcome.

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Objectives should also be S.M.A.R.T. - which means they should be: Specific – Be precise about what you are going to do.

Measureable – You will know when you have reached your goal.

Achievable – A less ambitious but completed objective is better than an overambitious one that you cannot possible achieve.

Realistic – Do you have the necessary resources to achieve the objective – time, money, skills, etc.

Time constrained – Determine when each stage needs to be completed. Is there time in your schedule to allow for unexpected delays.

Technical that

report

describes

is

a

the

document progress,

process, or results of scientific

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TECHNICAL REPORT

or technical research.

It

also

can

include

some

recommendations and conclusions.

Technical

reports

are

a

great

source of technical or scientific information. They can be written both

for

wider

distribution.

or

internal

TECHNICAL REPORT ELEMENTS

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A TYPICAL TECHNICAL REPORT CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS: 1. The Title page 2. The Introduction 3. Experimental details 4. Results and discussions 5. The body 6. Conclusion

THE CONCLUSION MAY INCLUDE:

Recommendations Reference Bibliography Acknowledgments Appendices

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:troper lacinhceT a etirw ot woH

1. Introduction 2. Structure 3. Presentation 4. Planning the report 5. Writing the first draft 6. Revising the first draft 7. Diagrams, graphs, tables and mathematics 8. The report layout 9. Headings 10. References to diagrams, graphs, tables and equations 11. Originality and plagiarism 12. Finalising the report and proofreading 13. The Summary 14. Proofreading 15. Word processing / desktop publishing 16. Recommended reading

Table of contents